Nevertheless, the LORD did not turn away from the heat of his fierce anger, which burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh had done to provoke him to anger.
In between Christmas and New Year, homemakers everywhere unite in one more major event in their calendars: 'Spring' Cleaning! (for lack of a better term, haha :>) Wikipedia notes that this practice originated in Persia, calling it ‘khooneh tekouni’ or literally, ‘shaking the house’ before the new year. Another possible origin was no less than the Jews’ preparation for Passover where they strictly had to make sure no yeast will be found in their homes. I sincerely wish they had vacuum cleaners before. Turning our homes upside down is no easy task. The fun part is when everyone shares in the work. The fulfilling part is when we can finally breathe in fresh air to our hearts’ content. Of course we know the family will sure mess it all up again in no time. But still we vainly hope for the shine to last and be kept all year. *We Wish! :>
When the pious Hezekiah died, chapter twenty one gave us two kings of Judah who were his complete opposite: Manasseh, Judah’s longest reigning, most evil king and Amon, whose two years echoed his father’s detestable walk. They rebuilt all that Hezekiah’s zeal destroyed. They even surpassed the sins the pagan nations the Lord destroyed before them. It was in Manasseh’s term that God finally gave up Judah because of the innocent blood that filled Jerusalem from end to end. It was a miracle that their bloodline would produce the reformer Josiah. In his spring cleaning of the whole land from idolatry, the book of the Law was found and he readily ordered everyone, from the greatest to the least, to come to terms with the covenant. His leadership brought them back to temple worship, but God knew the pretense in the people’s hearts. As long as he lived, they did not fail to follow the Lord. When he died, so did their devotion. No wonder the Lord was not willing to forgive. No genuine repentance happened in the first place.
Imagine the hardwork of Josiah’s spring cleaning: burning all carved idols, smashing down altars, slaughtering pagan priests. It was a national thing, extending even to Samaria. He passionately want it all gone for the land to breathe anew. He prayed it will be clean living for all henceforth. With the Bible on his hand, he was hopeful. But still his people failed him. Yesterday, I went to church to clean the kids Sunday School area. God called me to head this ministry for 2012 and with His Word to lead us, I am hopeful. The vision is to see the kids and teachers alike growing in their faith. Today, God reminded me I can’t. Not even with good leadership, nor thoughtful plans, not even with Bible on hand (I was surprised and shaken with that last part). I suddenly felt helpless and discouraged. I realized that not even godly efforts or sincere hearts can guarantee success. It was so humbling. But to trust Him is to hope in Him. Our God is a gracious God. He will not force men to respond to Him, but His love is sooo patient to willingly wait. As parents and teachers, that’s where we come in. The most we can do is to direct our children towards a direction and pray they’d take that step. Let’s pray they’d take that step. It may mean calling for regular clean ups and an all-year round bible reading. Then let’s hope that in time, they’d really see the Cross and accept His cleansing power. Only then they’d really be white as snow :>
No comments:
Post a Comment